'''The Black Dahlia Murder''' is an American [[melodic death metal]] band from Detroit, Michigan, formed in 2001. The band name is taken from the infamous unsolved murder of Hollywood waitress Elizabeth Short. Short, who was posthumously given the nickname "The Black Dahlia" by the local press, was found murdered in a Los Angeles park in January 1947. Her body had been cut in half at the torso, drained of all its blood, and given a Glasgow smile. The band comprises vocalist Trevor Strnad, guitarists Brian Eschbach and Ryan Knight, drummer Alan Cassidy, and bassist Max Lavelle. Out of the seven studio albums they have released to date, the last six of them have charted on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200, with their fifth album ''[[Ritual (The Black Dahlia Murder album)|Ritual]]'' peaking at No.&nbsp;31 in 2011, marking them as one of the most popular contemporary American [[extreme metal]] bands. Their latest album, ''[[Abysmal]]'', was released on September 18, 2015. ==Musical style and influences==The Black Dahlia Murder have been stated to perform the genre known as [[melodic death metal]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Black Dahlia Murder - Encyclopedia Metallum: The Metal Archives|url=http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/The_Black_Dahlia_Murder/5450}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Sharpe-Young | first = Garry | title = New Wave of American Heavy Metal (page 309: "Metalcore act Detroit's The Black Dahlia Murder issued the 2001 demo 'What a Horrible Night to have a Curse'".) | publisher = Zonda Books Limited | date = December 5, 2005 | isbn = 978-0958268400}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Peise | first = Steffen | title = Original and Adaption Rock & Pop Music (page 13: "However, they regularly take the song "Elder Misanthropy" by the American metalcore band The Black Dahlia ...'".) | publisher = | year = 2012 | isbn = }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metalblade.com/english/artists/theblackdahliamurder/bio.php|title=The Black Dahlia Murder|publisher=metalblade.com}}</ref> The band's music makes use of the melodic death metal sound, but features associated with [[brutal death metal]], such as high speeds, blast beats and growled vocals, are also prominent. The style of their early releases up to ''[[Miasma]]'' has also been described as [[deathcore]]. Influences for the band include groups such as [[Carcass]], [[At the Gates]], [[Darkane]], [[Dissection]], [[Darkthrone]], [[Morbid Angel]], [[The Haunted]], [[In Flames]], [[Dimension Zero]], [[Iron Maiden]], [[Judas Priest]], [[Metallica]], [[Pantera]] and [[Megadeth]]. Vocalist Trevor Strnad has cited on many occasions that he is primarily influenced by Carcass in vocalizing technique. When asked to describe what kind of music the band plays, Strnad commented: "I've always said that we're melodic death metal. We are mostly influenced by [[Swedish death metal|Swedish bands]] and Carcass. The heavy end of our sound is the American style creeping in, with some Floridian influences like [[Morbid Angel]], [[Malevolent Creation]] and that kind of stuff. We've been labeled more often because of our look than our sound, which is dumb, and speaks volumes about what kind of geniuses are out there!"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pyromusic.net/index.php?p=interviews_interview&id=32 |title=Interview of: Trevor Strnad - The Black Dahlia Murder |publisher=PyroMusic.net}}</ref> However, in an interview with ''Uranium Magazine'', Strnad also stated, "Some bands that get labeled as [[metalcore]] are actually good, like [[Between the Buried and Me]] or [[The Red Chord]]. [[heavy metal|Metal]] is what I grew up with, and then I learned about punk and hardcore. But a lot of our ethics, the way we carry ourselves, is more punk...I like that hardcore has a sense of community without the competition you see in metal."